Adjustment device for sports implements

ABSTRACT

An adjustment device for a roller skate including a support for an item of footwear and at least two aligned wheels. The device has the peculiarity of having, between the at least two aligned wheels, a screw for adjusting the interspace therebetween, as well as kinematic systems for interconnection with the support. The device allows to vary the distance between the support for the item of footwear and the axle of one or more of the aligned wheels of the skate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an adjustment device for sportsimplements, particularly for a skate comprising a plurality of alignedwheels.

Skates which have mutually aligned wheels are currently known; their useis aimed, to an increasingly specific extent, to the sports practice ofspeed skating or slalom.

These two different specialties require the wheels of the skate to havedifferent arrangements with respect to the support for the item offootwear: slalom in fact requires a configuration which allows toachieve a very tight radius of curvature, whereas speed skating requiresa configuration which allows to achieve the straightest possibledriving.

Skates are thus known which have aligned wheels wherein the variation ofthe position of said wheels is achieved by virtue of the interaction ofthe ends of the pivot of each wheel with a separate eccentric element.

The disadvantage which can be observed in these known types of deviceconsists of the fact that the partial disassembly of the assemblyconstituted by the wheel and by the pivot is required in order to thenbe able to rotate the eccentric through 180° in order to achieve adifferent arrangement of the axle of the wheel with respect to thesupport of the wheel or to the ground.

This all leads, therefore, to a scarce functionality and practicality ofsaid known devices, which force the user to perform long interventionswhich require the use of special tools.

It is furthermore possible to achieve only two different positions whichare due to the two positions which the eccentric element can assume.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is therefore to eliminate thedisadvantages described above in known types by providing a skate withaligned wheels in which it is possible to rapidly and easily adjust thedistance between the support for an item of footwear and the axle of oneor more of the aligned wheels.

A further aim of the present invention is to provide a skate withaligned wheels wherein it is possible to rapidly and easily adjust thedistance between the sole of an item of footwear and the axle of one ormore of the aligned wheels.

Within the scope of this aim, an important object is to provide a devicewherein the user can perform said adjustments without having to haveparticular tools available.

Another object is to provide a device which allows to achieve acontinuous and not discrete adjustment.

Another important object is to provide a device which is structurallysimple and wherein it is not necessary to disassemble the variouscomponents in order to achieve said adjustment.

Not least object is to provide a device which associates with thepreceding characteristics that of being reliable and safe in use.

This aim, these objects and others which will become apparenthereinafter are achieved by an adjustment device for sports implements,particularly for a skate comprising a support for an item of footwearand at least two aligned wheels each having a shaft, characterized inthat adjustment means are provided between said at least two alignedwheels and are suitable for simultaneously varying the interspacebetween said wheels and the distance between said support and the shaftof said at least two aligned wheels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusiveembodiment, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view of a skate according to theinvention with the wheels arranged in the condition of minimum extensionwith respect to the frame;

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional top view of the skate according to theline II--II of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view, taken along alongitudinal median sectional plane, of a skate according to a furtheraspect of the invention with the wheel arranged in the condition ofminimum extension with respect to the frame;

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to the preceding one, of an intermediatecondition of the position of the wheel with respect to the frame;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, taken along a longitudinal sectional plane,of a third embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 3, of a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 3, of a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of a skate according to the preceding figure;

FIG. 9 is a partially sectional side view of a sixth embodiment of theskate;

FIG. 10 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 3, of a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional partial view of a wheel of a skateaccording to a further aspect of the invention, in the position ofminimum distance between the sole of the item of footwear and the axleof the wheel;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to the preceding one, in the position ofmaximum distance between the sole and the axle;

FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view of the skate of FIGS. 11-12;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional partial view of a wheel of a skateaccording to still a further aspect of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the above figures, the reference numeral 1 indicatesan adjustment device for sports implements, particularly for a skate 2which comprises a support 3 for an item of footwear 4 which alsoconstitutes a frame for one or more mutually aligned wheels 5.

The adjustment device 1 is interposed between two or more of said wheels5 which are mutually adjacent, and comprises a means for adjusting boththe interspace between said wheels and the distance between the support3 and the axle of said adjacent wheels 5.

Said adjustment device is constituted by a screw 6 which is providedwith a head 7 which can be accessed by the user and with a stem 8 whichhas two distinct regions, 9a, and 9b, with opposite threads.

Said two distinct regions interact with a first sleeve and with a secondsleeve which are complementarily threaded and are indicated by thenumerals 10a and 10b; each sleeve is rigidly associated with theconcordantly orientated end of one of the two pivots, or shafts, 11 and12 of the two adjacent wheels being considered.

Kinematic systems for interconnection between two of said mutuallyadjacent wheels and said support also constitute the adjustment device:said systems are constituted by a first pair of connecting rods and by asecond pair of connecting rods, indicated by the numerals 13a, 13b and14a, 14b, which are freely pivoted to one another at one end at a thirdsleeve 15 and are pivoted to the pivots, or shafts, 11 and 12 at theother end.

Said third sleeve 15 is in turn pivoted to the support 3 at its ends.

Advantageously, a wall 16 is arranged laterally to the support 3, and aguiding slot 17 is defined in said wall for the sliding and movement ofthe first and second sleeves 10a and 10b during the activation of thescrew 6.

The use of the adjustment device is as follows: by gripping and turningthe head 7 of the screw 6, the user forces the mutual approach orspacing of the first and second sleeves 10a and 10b; due to the presenceof the first and second pairs of connecting rods, which are pivoted tothe third sleeve 15 which is in turn rotatably associated with thesupport 3, this movement is followed by a simultaneous lifting orlowering of the screw 6.

The combination of these two movements causes the lifting or loweringand, respectively, the simultaneous mutual approach or spacing of thetwo adjacent wheels affected by the device.

With reference to FIGS. 3-4, the adjustment device, according to afurther aspect of the invention, generally indicated by the referencenumeral 501, is particularly usable for a skate which comprises two ormore aligned wheels 502 and an item of footwear 503.

The adjustment device comprises a carriage 504 which has a substantiallyC-shaped configuration which defines first wings 505a and 505b betweenwhich at least one wheel 502 can be arranged by means of an adaptedpivot 506 which has a head 507 which protrudes outside the wing 505b anda threaded stem 508 which protrudes outside the wing 505a, to which acomplementarily threaded nut 509 can be temporarily secured.

Said carriage 504 is slidingly associable inside a C-shaped frame 510above which the item of footwear 503 is rigidly associated.

The frame 510 has second wings 511a and 511b which are arranged parallelto the first wings 505a and 505b and are slightly longer than said firstwings.

First slots 512a and 512b are furthermore defined longitudinally on thesecond wings 511a and 511b, and the head 507 and the nut 509 can slidefreely thereat.

Means for guiding the mutual position of the carriage 504 with respectto said frame 510 are also arranged at the second wings 511a and 511b ofthe frame 510; said means are constituted by a pair of pivots 513a and513b which protrude laterally outside the wings 505a and 505b of thecarriage 504 and slide within adapted second slots 514a and 514b whichare defined longitudinally with respect to the second wings 511a and511b.

Resilient members, such as pads 515a and 515b, are interposed at thepivots 513a and 513b at said second slots; the function of saidresilient members is to provide an elastic contrast to the movements ofthe carriage with respect to the frame.

Between the connecting base sides of the first and second wings of thecarriage 504 and of the frame 510 there are means for adjusting themutual position thereof; said means are constituted by a screw 516 whichis freely rotatably associated transversely to the frame 510 and isprovided with a threaded stem 517 and with a knob 518 which can beaccessed by the user.

The threaded stem 517 interacts with a complementarily threaded seatdefined on a slider 519 which has an essentially triangularcross-section; the inclined side of said slider is directed toward theunderlying carriage 504 and interacts with an equally inclined plane 520of a raised portion 521 which protrudes from said carriage 504.

The use of the device is as follows: by gripping the knob 518, the usercan impart a rotation to the threaded stem 517 of the screw 516, so asto move the slider 519.

Said slider spaces or not the underlying raised portion 21 and thereforethe carriage 504 from the frame 510, as can be deduced from FIG. 4.

According to the variated embodiment of FIG. 5, the resilient membersare interposed between the frame 410 and the carriage 404 and areconstituted by a pair of springs 422a and 422b which are arranged inregions adjacent to the slider 419 and the raised portion 421 which isprovided with the inclined plane 420.

The presence of the pair of springs 422a and 422b allows to repositionthe carriage adjacent to the frame after the slider has been pushedtoward the wing 11b of the frame.

FIG. 6 illustrates a third embodiment, wherein the adjustment device forsports implements, generally indicated by the reference numeral 101,again has a raised portion 121 provided with an inclined plane 120 whichinteracts with the inclined side of the slider 119; a resilient member,constituted by one or more leaf springs 122, is interposed between thecarriage 104 and the frame 110.

Said leaf spring is arranged transversely to the frame 110 in theinterspace defined between said frame and the carriage 104; the ends ofthe leaf spring are sunk in the wings 111a and 111b of the frame 110.

The interconnection between the leaf spring 122 and the carriage 104occurs approximately at the median region of said carriage by virtue ofthe presence of a hook 123 which protrudes perpendicularly and abovesaid carriage 104.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a fourth embodiment of an adjustment device forsports implements, generally indicated by the reference numeral 201,which is constituted by a carriage 204 to which one or more alignedwheels 202 are pivoted and which can slide within a frame 210.

In this embodiment, the means for adjusting the mutual position of thecarriage and of the frame are constituted by a screw 216 which isarranged perpendicularly to the carriage and to the frame in a regioncomprised between two adjacent wheels 202.

Said screw 216 has a head 207 on which a notch is defined; said headprotrudes inside the carriage 204 and thus arranges itself in theinterspace between two adjacent wheels.

The screw has a threaded stem 217 which interacts with a complementarilythreaded bush 225 which is associated with the base of the carriage 204;said threaded stem has, at its free end, a disk 226 which is rotatablyassociated within a complementarily shaped seat defined on the base ofthe frame 210 which faces the corresponding base of the carriage 204.

This solution allows to simultaneously vary the position of a pair ofwheels.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a fifth embodiment of an adjustment device forsports implements, generally indicated by the reference numeral 301,which is constituted by a carriage 304, to which one or more alignedwheels 302 are pivoted, which is slidingly associated within a frame310.

In this embodiment, the means for adjusting and/or guiding the mutualposition of the carriage and the frame are constituted by two pairs oftabs 327a and 327b which are resilient and protrude laterally and belowthe carriage in the regions adjacent to one or more of the alignedwheels 302 and thus protrude approximately parallel to the first wings305.

Said two pairs of tabs have a toothed region 328a and 328b whichinteracts with a complementarily shaped set of teeth 329 defined on thesecond wings 311a and 311b of the frame 310.

The ends of the two pairs of tabs 327a and 327b protrude below thecorresponding ends of the second wings 311a and 311b of the frame 310,so that they can be gripped by the user so as to momentarily disengage,by virtue of their deformability, the toothed regions of thecomplementarily shaped set of teeth and thus achieve the adjustment ofthe mutual position of the carriage and the frame.

With reference to FIGS. 11-13, the adjustment device, indicated by thenumeral 601, for sports implements, is particularly usable for a skatewhich comprises a frame 602 for at least two wheels 603 which arearranged mutually aligned.

The adjustment device 601 is applied at one or more of the wheels 603and is constituted by a single pivot 604 which has a head 605 and a stem606.

At the head 605 there are means for rotating it constituted for exampleby a seat 607 with a polygonal configuration for the insertion of anappropriate wrench of the Allen type, or the head 605 itself has theshape of a knob.

A pair of eccentric elements, indicated by the numerals 608a and 608b,is instead associated with the stem 606 of the pivot 604; said eccentricelements are arranged in complementarily shaped seats 609a and 609bwhich are defined on the lateral walls 610a and 610b of said frame 602.

Said pair of eccentric elements is interposed between the head 605,which is located outside the lateral wall 610b, and the threaded freeend 611, which is external to the wall 610a, of the stem 606.

Advantageously, the eccentric element 608a is keyed at a flattenedregion 612 defined on the stem 606.

A nut 613 is furthermore associable with the end 611 of the stem 606 andhas a notch 614 for the tip of a screwdriver; the width of the base ofthe nut is such as to interact with the eccentric element 608a and withthe lateral wall 610a regardless of the position of said eccentricelement: this allows to preset the play between the various componentsso as to allow an optimum rotation of the pivot 604.

The use of the adjustment device is in fact as follows: the user, byturning the head 605 by using a simple Allen wrench, which has modestdimensions and is thus easy to carry, or by directly turning thehob-shaped head 605, imposes a rotation which arranges the eccentricelements either in the condition illustrated in FIG. 11 or in thecondition illustrated in FIG. 12.

It is thus possible to preset the distance between the base of the itemof footwear and the axle 604 of the wheel 603 according to the use ofthe skate.

The closure distance between the lateral walls 610a and 610b of theframe 602 and the distance between the eccentric elements 608a and 608bfurthermore remains preset and constant, allowing the wheel to rotatewithout interferences due to friction; this is achieved by virtue of theabutment arrangement which occurs between the eccentric element 608a andthe stem 606 and between the free end 611 and the cavity of the nut 613.

Finally, the fact is stressed that the eccentric elements 608a and 608bform abutment shoulders to lock the inner ring 615 for the coupling ofthe bearings 616a and 616b to the axle 604 of the wheel 603.

The fact is also stressed that a rotation of the eccentric elementthrough ±90° with respect to the position of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 allowsto vary the longitudinal center distance between two adjacent wheels.

FIG. 14 shows an adjustment device 701, similar to that of FIGS. 11-13,wherein it comprises a frame 702 supporting at least two wheels of whichjust wheel 703 is shown.

A shaft, or pivot, 704 is supported by frame 702 and has, at one end, ahead 705 provided with a tool seat 707 for engagement with, for example,a screwdriver.

At the other end the shaft 704 is locked by a locking head 713, whichcan be advantageously removable in a per se known manner, fordisassembling the wheel.

Shaft 704 supports an eccentric bush 708 which in turn supports abearing 716 for the wheel 703.

It is apparent that the adjustment of the wheel position is simplyobtained by turning the head 705 of shaft 704 which in turn rotates theeccentric bush 708.

The adjustment can be performed by the skater while wearing the skates.

It has thus been observed that the invention has achieved the intendedaim and objects, a skate with aligned wheels having been providedwherein it is possible to adjust, with a single operation and thus in arapid and easy manner, the distance between the support of the item offootwear and the axle of one or more of the aligned wheels.

The device furthermore allows to perform these adjustments withouthaving to have particular tools available; said adjustments canfurthermore be obtained without requiring the disassembly of anycomponent on the part of the user, so that they are even more rapid andstraightforward.

Since no disassembly is required, the user no longer needs to have anyspare parts available, since the loss of any component cannot beenvisaged.

The device according to the invention is susceptible to numerousmodifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of thesame inventive concept.

The materials and the dimensions which constitute the individualelements of the invention may naturally be the most pertinent accordingto the specific requirements.

We claim:
 1. Adjustment device for a skate comprising a support for anitem of footwear and at least two aligned wheels each having a shaft,wherein adjustment means are provided between said at least two alignedwheels and are suitable for varying the distance between said supportand the shaft of said at least two aligned wheels, the adjustment devicecomprising a carriage, between which at least one of said at least twoaligned wheels can be arranged, and a frame, within which said carriageis slidingly associated and with which said item of footwear isexternally coupled, at least one resilient member being provided betweensaid carriage and said frame, the adjustment device further comprising acarriage which has a substantially C-shaped configuration and havingfirst wings, said carriage being slidingly associated inside said framewhich is C-shaped, said item of footwear being rigidly associated onsaid frame, said frame having second wings which are arranged parallelto said first wings and are slightly longer than said first wings, firstslots being defined longitudinally on said second wings, pivot means forfastening said wheels at said carriage wings being able to slide freelyat said first slots.
 2. Device according to claim 1, wherein means forguiding the mutual position of said carriage and of said frame arearranged at said second wings of said frame, said means beingconstituted by a pair of pivots which protrude laterally outside saidfirst wings of said carriage, said pivots sliding within adapted secondslots defined longitudinally to said second wings, resilient pads beinginterposed at said pivots at said second slots.
 3. A skate comprising:asupport frame; a carriage; means for slidably supporting said carriageon said support frame such that said carriage is positionable in aplurality of stable positions along a substantially vertical directionof the support frame; at least two wheels; means for rotatablysupporting said at least two wheels on said carriage;thereby uponpositioning of said carriage with respect to said support frame the atleast two wheels both assume a relative position with respect to saidsupport frame.
 4. The skate of claim 3, wherein said carriage comprisesa raised portion with an inclined plane which is inclined with respectto a horizontal plane of the support frame, the skate furthercomprising: a threaded screw which is rotatably supported by saidsupport frame; and a slider element through which said threaded screw isscrewed so that said slider is slidable in a direction parallel to thehorizontal plane of the support frame, the slider element alsocomprising an inclined plane which is in sliding contact with saidinclined plane of the raised portion of the carriage.
 5. The skate ofclaim 4, further comprising biasing means for biasing said carriage in avertical direction.
 6. The skate of claim 4, wherein said support frameis C-shaped with a pair of wings between which said carriage isarranged, said carriage also comprising a pair of wings which extendsubstantially parallel to the wings of said support frame and betweenwhich said at least two wheels are rotatably supported, the carriagefurther comprising a pair of pivots which extend into a pair of verticalslots provided in the wings of said support frame, a pair of resilientmembers being arranged in said vertical slots and surrounding saidpivots.
 7. The skate of claim 4, wherein said support frame is C-shapedwith a pair of wings between which said carriage is arranged, saidcarriage also comprising a pair of wings which extend substantiallyparallel to the wings of said support frame and between which said atleast two wheels are rotatably supported, the skate further comprising aleaf spring having ends which are connected to the wings of said supportframe and a middle portion connected to said raised portion of thecarriage.
 8. The skate of claim 4, further comprising a pair of springswhich extend in a vertical direction and which are interconnectedbetween said support frame and said carriage.